Removing Excess Stain

[RobinAdams]

oops....forgot the pic

[MacS]

Robin,

The Red Mahogany stain looks like a pigmented stain, not a dye.

Do they have a Dark Red Mahogany stain that should give you the color. If not ask if they have a black paste colorants to add in the staim, maybe, the ebony color you used, can be added into the Red Mahogany stain.

Make up some color samples, be sure you "clear coat" over the stain so you can see the true final color.

[astrid]

robin,
as i mentioned in my first post, teak is difficult to stain it dosnt take up another colour well because its hard and naturally oily
pine on the other hand sucks it up .
you are not going to get the same penitration with the same product.
so what kind of stain did you use on the doors.
I stained some teak tables recently and they came up well.
i used an oil based stain.
astrid

[RobinAdams]

I started using the same stain on the teak as I did on the doors. The reason the doors came up like they did is that we never whiped the stain off, we just kept applying layers until it was dark enough......appparently not the proper way to stain things. The stain is an oil based one. When I started staining the teak in that fashion, it looked good, but there were too many spots that were darker and some lighter. It was hard to keep consistent, that's where the problem lies I think. I need to go dark but have a consistent colour which is hard when you are just applying one layer of stain over the other and not whiping it off. It seems more like I'm painting the wood as opposed to staining.

[MacS]

The stain needs to be wiped off, or it will look look like your painting if you apply color on color.

When you wiped the stain off, you said, it did not look good in some places, was the pieces stripped throughly clean , if there is any residue left that maybe why the stain is not adhering all over.

Robin, you could use this oil stain as "glaze," you would have to let the stain dry, and then coat over the stain, and then allow it to dry, and then you can apply the second stain and this time you wipe the stain on and then "brush the stain out " keep brushing until you see no more brush lines, then allow it too dry, and then recoat again.

[astrid]

dave are you sure this is teak?
looks more like mountain ash to me. teak ususlly has a more even grain.
this stuff is hard to colour.
I know this is flustraiting to you but, in my experience is it is one of the hardest timbers to change radically
last time i did one dark, i think i usd an oil base, let it dry 2-3 days, wiped off, added another coat wiped off again then put a tinted danish oil on fast.
let it dry 2 days, buff back and then apply another coat.
unfortunatly all timber aint the same to stain.

astrid

[astrid]

sorry, i meant robin
astrid

[MacS]

Robin,

There is no "wood in this world" that should take that many days to color Dark Red Mahogany.

If someone has to take that long, there is something wrong, do you think that manufacturers or refinishers can spend 5 days just coloring their wood.

This might be OK for a private woodworker or hobbyist with time on their hands, or those conservators who work on priceless antiques, or if you worked for people where money was not important.

If your woods was stripped "clean" and there was absolutey no residue on the woods, and you did not sand the woods too smooth so it would not accept the stain, there is no reason that you could not color it a "dark mahogany" color in either mixing the dyes, or using "pigmented stains, toners, glazes, or shading stains."

You probably have heard that you should not use pigments, because they "paint the wood" ? That is just not true, pigments do not paint the woods, its the "finishers who paint the woods." Pigments are just as valuable as dyes in finishing, in fact in my personal opinion, they are more valuable, because you can do more finishing techniques with pigments then you can with dyes.

Robin, you need to rethink your finishing plans, I would reccomend that you consider using the pigmented coloring mediums listed above, and make up some samples.

Think twice, and finish once.

Good Luck

[astrid]

it is not at all unusual to spend 5 days colouing wood if you want a good scratch resistant finish.
ask any professional restorer.
surface tints and glazes are just that. the surface first sratch of a dark glaze on a light timber will stare at you forever, whereas a scratch on pre stained timber will be a lot less obtrusive.
as an australian I have worked a lot with mountain ash and know this to be true.

astrid

[astrid]

it also maybe that you left some of the old finish behind
some of these pieces used a grain filler that is really hard to spot,
ive been stuck with this myself.
when you put the stain on were there patches where the stain "skimmed" over
if this is the case you have to sand again
astrid

[MacS]

"If your woods was stripped "clean" and there was absolutey no residue on the woods, and you did not sand the woods too smooth so it would not accept the stain, there is no reason that you could not color it a "dark mahogany" color in either mixing the dyes, or using "pigmented stains, toners, glazes, or shading stains."

Astrid,

I already mentioned about the woods not being cleaned, as the cause of his problem, why did you mention it like it was your idea?

Sometimes, stripping is not needed, as there are ways around it, in other cases it must be stripped. In some other cases, making the pieces presentable is all that they expect and want.

[astrid]

macs
I was not going to reply to your post, as i said before its horses for courses.
But you dont seem to realise, that far from australian finishers being behind the times and desperatly in need of your american know how,more and more of us and our clients are turning to less environmentaly and less carcenogenic and less physically hazzardous materials than in the 1980's
I wish you well, but i think the time of harsh chemical solutions and unnatural colours is over.
this however is just my and my clients opinion and you are free to express yours
but not to me
astrid

[Lignum]

I have better things to do then answer your messages, you have a lot to learn about finishing, and why don't you stop hiding behind the "restorer" title. It don't impress me or a lot of others who come to this forum.

Not me. I enjoy astrids contributions to the forum. Keep up the good advice astrid

[astrid]

Macs
denegrating another profession is not accepable on this forum.
if you wont understand that there is a place for traditional and modern work
and both have there uses and merits and appropriate applications then i think you should not be posting here
astrid

[astrid]

thanks for the support
i am not a great french polisher and have pointed this out many times, but i do what i do really well and dont need this.

astrid